Organic explosive compositions suitable for weapon casings



United States Patent 3,147,162 ORGANIC EXPLOSIVE COMPOSITIONS SUITABLEFOR WEAPON CASINGS James T. Paul, Jr., Wilmington, DeL, assignor, bymesne assignments, to the United States of America as represented by theSecretary of the Navy No Drawing. Filed Get. 21, 1955, Ser. No. 542,112

1 Claim. (Cl. 14919) The invention described herein may be manufacturedand used by or for the Government of the United States of America forgovernmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon ortherefor.

This invention relates to explosive compositions, more particularly, itrelates to explosive compositions suitable for fabricating high strengthWeapon casings.

The chief objective of the invention is the provision of explosivecompositions for use in fabricating Weapon casings. These compositionsshould provide a finished article of high physical strength, low impactsensitivity, and high density. Additionally, they should cure at lowtemperatures.

It has been found that a suitable tough, flexible, high explosivecomposition is obtained when polyvinyl chloride or polyvinylchloride-polyvinyl acetate plastic is filled with a granular, highmelting explosive such as cyclotrimethylene trinitramine orpentaerythritol tetranitrate. The composition is prepared by mixing anexplosive filler with a suspension of the polymeric material and asuitable plasticizer, and curing the resulting mixture at a temperatureof from 270 to 350 F. The curing is a solution process in which thevinyl component dissolves in the plasticizer at the high temperature.

In addition to its explosive property, the formed product ischaracterized by very high impact strength, high physical strength andhigh density.

The following examples are illustrative of the invention but notlimiting thereof.

Example] Component: Wt. percent Cyclotrimethylene trinitramine 70Polyvinyl chloride 18 Dibutyl sebacate 12 The above mixture was curedfrom 5 to 7 minutes at 350 F.

ExampleZ Component: Wt. percent Cyclotrimethylene trinitramine 60Polyvinyl chloride 24 Dioctyl phthalate 16 The above mixture was curedat 350 F.

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Example3 Component: Wt. percent Cyclotrimethylene trinitramine 50.0 0Vinylite (VYNV) 30.05 Dioctyl sebacate 12.? Dimethoxyethyl phthalate7.40

The above mixture was cured for 15 minutes at 270 F. The explosivecompositions produced in the above examples were characterized by highimpact strength, high physical strength and high density, making themsuitable for the fabrication of high strength weapon casings.

From the above data it is seen that the invention provides compositionssuitable for the manufacture of explosive weapon casings. Thecompositions can be cured at low temperatures and the cured product hasthe required explosive characteristics, high density, and high physicalstrength.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claim the invention maybe practiced otherwise than as specifically described. For example,mixtures of the disclosed high explosives as Well as mixtures of thedisclosed plastics and plasticizers may be used.

What is claimed is:

An explosive composition for use in fabricating weapon casings,comprising, from about 50 to about percent of a high explosive from theclass consisting of cyclotrimethylene trinitramine and pentaerythritoltetranitrate; from about 18 to about 31 percent of a material from theclass consisting of polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride-polyvinylacetate copolymer; and from about 7 to about 20 percent of a materialfrom the class consisting of dibutyl sebacate, dioctyl phthalate anddioctyl sebacate; said composition being curable at a temperaturebetween about 270 to 350 F.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,067,213 Snelling Jan. 12, 1937 2,171,379 Wahl Aug. 29, 1939 2,205,428Mitchell June 25, 1940 2,606,109 Kristiakowsky et a1 Aug. 5, 19522,717,204 Noddin et a1 Sept. 6, 1955

